Music blared from Georgia State University’s (GSU) Student Center Ballroom on Oct. 17 for Pride Prom, where many queer and trans people gathered to celebrate their identity at a dance hosted by Tech’s LGBTQIA Resource Center and GSU’s Multicultural Center. The dance included light refreshments, a live DJ and a drag queen performance.
The dance was held during an important month for members of the LGBTQ community in Atlanta. Atlanta Pride Month, along with the Atlanta Pride Parade, is held annually in October, and October is recognized as Pride History Month, which recognizes the movement and the leaders who fought for LGBTQ rights.
At the Pride Prom, projectors showed rotating images and facts about LGBTQ rights leaders and celebrities, including Billie Jean King, Harvey Milk and RuPaul Charles. Many students took to the dance floor in the middle of the ballroom to dance to high school prom hits like the “Cupid Shuffle.”
About an hour into the dance, a drag queen lip-synced to “I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)” by Shoshana Bean before engaging with the crowd and reminding them about the gender-neutral bathrooms and sensory room on the second floor of the student center.
As the crowd mingled and danced, the Technique had the opportunity to talk to some Tech students who attended the event.
Dylan Bracey, third-year CMPE, went to the prom with Rafael Avila, M.S. CE. Bracey said that he went to the first Pride Prom two years ago and really enjoyed it. He wasn’t able to attend last year because of a timing conflict, but he said he was happy to attend this year to connect with other members of the community and enjoy a space where everyone could freely express their identities.
Vivvianne Hootselle, second-year MUSI, said she went to the prom to enjoy the music and dance. Hootselle was able to take advantage of a shuttle bus from Tech’s Campus to GSU’s Student Center. The LGBTQIA Resource Center provided Tech students with a shuttle bus to make the event more accessible to students who wanted to attend the event but couldn’t get to the location.
Hooselle said that her previous institution had a department similar to Tech’s LGBTQIA Resource Center, so she started attending events hosted at Tech. She said that she prefers events like the Pride Prom, where she can have fun and hang with queer people.
Karlie Burrell, Program Coordinator at the LGBTQIA Resource Center, said the Pride Prom was about providing a safe space for queer and trans students to express themselves.
“It is just about having a fun, safe experience for queer and trans folks to feel like they can be themselves. And also to acknowledge that a lot of folks may not have the space to safely come out until they’re in college, so prom in high school may not have looked like it would have ideally for them,” Burrell said.
The LGBTQIA Resource Center also held several other events in recognition of Atlanta Pride Month and Pride History Month, including representing tech at the Atlanta Pride Parade, where almost 50 people affiliated with the center walked.
Burrell said the center also hosted Coming Out Week events, an LGBTQIA Voices in Engineering Panel and Slay the Runway, a queer fashion show collaborating with Pride Alliance at Georgia Tech. Pride Alliance at Georgia Tech also hosted the Big Gay Brunch and Pride Fest this month, all in celebration of Atlanta Pride Month and Pride History Month.
According to Burrell, the LGBTQ community is really active at Tech, and several students are engaged with the center throughout the year, frequenting several LGBTQIA Resource Center events. The center had 967 unique students who attended LGBTQIA Resource Center events last year.
The center holds biweekly Queer Coffeehouse meetings, where people can get coffee, treats and have informal discussions. The center also hosts Q Chats year-round, where people can meet and talk with others with shared identities.
These programs and the work done by the LGBTQIA Resource Center and its collaborators around campus are no doubt part of the reason that Tech was ranked the twelfth LGBTQ+-friendly college in the United States by bestcolleges.com.
Burrell said the center is always working to make Tech’s campus a safer and more inclusive space for members of the LGBTQ community to ensure that everyone has the space to express their identities. They also shared some advice to those who might be unsure or are about their identity.
“For folks who are maybe questioning their gender or sexuality or aren’t confident in their identities, I always encourage folks to connect with folks in their community, to hear more queer stories, hear more trans stories. And maybe they figure out that that’s not their identity, but maybe they figure out that it is. And either way, I think that people like getting together to understand more of the queer and trans experience and building community with folks whose experiences they share is always, always a positive,” Burrell said.
The LGBTQIA Resource Center is available for one-on-one guidance appointments and provides helpful resources on its website at lgbtqia.gatech.edu.
